Therianthropes - Weres
Therianthropes are a greatly feared part of the humanoid races. Commonly called Lycanthropes by the average person that term actually only refers to two types of Therianthropes: Werewolves and Wolfweres. There is also the term antherions which is used for any Therianthrope whose natural form is not human such as Wolfweres or Jackalweres. Antherions naturally feel enmity for therianthropes of their contrasting type. There are many other forms that Therianthropes can take with most being described with "weres" in their name.
Therianthropes are any creature that has a minimum of two forms, one of those forms human. There are True Therianthropes, Induced Therianthropes and Cursed Therianthropes. Not all therianthropes are inimical to humankind but none except Wererats tend to live as part of human society.
While there are many rarely seen types the most commonly encountered Therianthropes are:
Hengeoykai and Spirit Folk are almost never seen outside of the Oriental Lands. Hengeoykai, Wererats and Werewolves are the only types of Therianthropes that typically form larger groups than the immediate family unit.
There are three topics on the mind of everyone who encounters a Therianthrope.
- How do I damage them if they attack me?
- Most Therianthropes are affected by silver or magical weapons and by magical spells only. Some are susceptible to attacks by cold iron weapons but the wounds from normal weapons heal too fast to cause any damage to most Therianthropes.
- When do they change form?
- Most therianthropes have three forms; some have only two. The first form is always the natural humanoid form, which over time becomes more and more reminiscent of the therianthrope's animal form. The second form is a hybrid, combining both animal and humanoid features; the size of this hybrid tends to lie between the humanoid size and the size of the creature replicated. The third form of the therianthrope is externally identical to that of a normal creature of the replicated species; the only visual clue is that the eyes may glow in the dark. True Therianthropes are in full control of their shape change while Infected Therianthropes take many changes to learn how to control their form. A slain therianthrope always reverts to its natural form within one round of being killed.
- What do I do if I become one?
- The most common way of becoming a Therianthrope is by being bitten by a True Therianthrope. If someone is infected that way it typically manifests the night of the full moon, as well as the night immediately before, and the night immediately after, the full moon. During those nights, the character gains no benefits from sleep or normal healing, and loses all memory of events which happen while in animal form. In all respects, the character gains the abilities, immunities, defenses, and bloodlust of an infected therianthrope; it cannot transmit this to others. When the three-night attack is over, the victim can make another saving throw, with a -3 penalty, to throw off the spell's effects. A remove curse allows the character to roll a saving throw vs. polymorph; success means the curse is broken. A wish also dispels the curse. No other spells can remove the curse.
